Acoustic studies of the killer whale (Orcinus orca) pod in Genoa
Introduction
C. Guidi1,2,a, V. Kulikovskiy1, M. Sanguineti1,2, M. Taiuti1,2
1) INFN, Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genova
2) Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Università degli Studi di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genova
a) Carlo.Guidi@ge.infn.it
A pod of orcas (orcinus orca) or killer whales has visited the port of Genova Voltri-Prà during December 2019. Several acoustic measurement of orca vocalizations has been collected thanks to the assistance of the Port Authorities of Genoa (Capitaneria di Porto di Genova). These orcas were later recogniged by researches in Iceland as being present there in 2017 and before, first notice.
The recordings (in .wav format) and some results of the analyses are reported in this page. The usage of this files is free only for scientific and outreach purposes, acknowledgment of INFN, Sezione di Genova, and Università degli Studi di Genova is required. If this data are used for pubblications on scientific journals, the scientists of INFN, Sezione di Genova, and Università degli Studi di Genova must be included in the author list.
The data from 11 December is a property of M. Sommer and G. Pesce (Aquarium of Genova). If this data is used, acknowledgement to Aquarium of Genova and authors is required.
Data aquisition from orcas in Marineland was in collaboration with Duncan Versteegh and Isabelle Brasseur. If this data is used, acknowledgement to Marineland (Antibes) is required.
Diary of the measurements
- 6/12/2019-10:00 Vessel: Patrol boat of the Port Authorities (CP311). Weather: Cloudy, windy, really cold. Sea state: slight (mosso). Clear vocalizations only at the end of the data taking (after one hour of measurement). Four killer whales observed and one of the female was bringing the dead calf corpse.
- 8/12/2019: Vessel: Patrol boat of the Port Authorities (CP830), then CP311. Weather: Sunny, no wind. Sea stae: Calm rippled (calmo), long waves. Killer whales moved westward from the VTE terminal at Port of Voltri-Prà to Scogli Merlini and back. Aquistion of data1. Change of boat when re-entering in the Port of Voltri-Prà. Four killer whales observed, no info about the calf. Acquisition of data2.
- 9/12/2019-09:30 Vessel: Boat of the Port Authorities (GCA 95). Weather: Sunny, no wind. Sea state: Calm ripped (calmo). Four killer whales observed, calf not observed. The 4 adults were very active during one of the emergence, they were like surfing the waves (in proximity of the file audio [1]).
- 10/12/2019-10:30 Vessel: Boat of the Port Authorities (GCA 95). Weather: Sunny, windy. Sea state: slight (mosso). Three killer whales observed. Rough sea condition did not allow the identification of the fouth animal and the registration of vocalizations.
- 11/12/2019-16:05 Vessel: Patrol boat of the Port Authorities (CP 729 or similar, hydro-jet).
- Morning (12:00). Weather: Sunny, windy. Sea state: calm/flat. Four killer whales observed. Acquisition started with engine off. Regular clicks present in the data are due to boat sonar (realized afterwards, see below). Data acquisition by M. Sommer and G. Pesce (Aquarium of Genova).
- Afternoon (16:00). Weather: Sunny, no wind. Sea state: calm/flat. Four killer whales observed. Calm sea conditions. Acquisition started with engine off. We've noticed regular click system and several minutes after realized that it was due to the boat sonar. The sonar was off then which confirmed the clicks origin. Almost one hour of continuous measurements revealed no signals. Cetaceans stayed in group close together close to the entrance to the port.
- 19/12/2019 M. Sanguineti, V. Kulikovskiy went to Marineland in order to record the sounds produced by the 4 killer whales present in the facility. The 4 orcas are born in the park and are from Icelandic type (first generation and second generation).
- First measurement firstpool1, firstpool2, firstpool3 adult male (20 years, first generation) and male (8 years, second generation) in the same pool. The two other individuals, a female 18 years (first generation) and a young 6 years old (second generation) are in an adjacent pool.
- Second measurement separatedpools1 adult female (18 years, first generation) and her last baby (6 years old male second generation) in a pool and the two other individuals (males 20 years old and 8 years old) in a different pool not adjacent this time. By experience the trainers know a set up that stimulates the animals to produce more sounds and "communicate" more. This set up leads sometimes to a particular sound referred as a "separation sound". This sound is louder than the other types of sounds. The trainers found interesting to have this “separation sound” recorded in case it would have been recorded for the whales present in Genova. At the end of the record, the animals were again in adjacent pools.
- Thanks to Duncan Versteegh and Isabelle Brasseur for collaboration (please, also cite their names and Marineland if you wish to use these data).
Ongoing studies
Cleaned signals
Boat noise was removed with applying low threshold 1Khz filter (using Audacity tool https://www.audacityteam.org) Effect -> Filter curve. Then noise pattern was taken in the signal free zone and applied for the rest of the data (Effect->Noise Reduction).
- 2019 12 06 all cleaned signals in one file can be found here: [2]
- 2019 12 08 all cleaned signals in one file can be found here: [3].
Possible call signal
Presence of a particular repetitive signal "Whistle (positive chirp) + zap + whistle (short negative chirp then longer positive chirp) with over 7 repetitions was noticed on 2019 12 06.
Figure: All sequence of calls.
Slight variation of the signal in each repetition (no zap at the first occurrence, more monotonic first whistle or more chirped).
Figure: Three calls showing variation of the signal.
Such particular signals may be pod specific - see, for example figure N8ii, N8iv in comparison with one of the signals.
Figure: One of the call signals.
Analyzing the data from 2019 12 06 similar signals were identified. The comparison is shown below (time axis have same intervals).
Figure: Data above is from 2019 12 06 while below is from 2019 12 08.
Possible click signal
- Presence of click signals on 2019 12 08.
- Presence of click signals accompanied with whistles was seen on 2019 12 09 [4]. Such vocalization is typical for fish hunting orcas but could be also used for orientation in turbid water. This is opposite to clicks without whistles which are typical for hunting marine mammals since prey can detect the whistle calls.
Signals catalog
| Sound type | Date file and time in the file | Spectrogram | Audio | Clicks | Chirps | Trembling | Constant | Zap | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 01m51s | 
|
[5] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Trembling sound | 12/6 data11h53m 01m52s | 
|
[6] | N | N | Y | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 01m59s | 
|
[7] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 02m02s | 
|
[8] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 02m08s | 
|
[9] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp and trembling sound | 12/6 data11h53m 02m16s | 
|
[10] | N | Y | Y | N | N | |
| Constant and chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 02m50s | 
|
[11] | N | Y | N | Y | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 02m55s | 
|
[12] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Zap and chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 02m59s | 
|
[13] | N | Y | N | N | Y | |
| Zap and Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 03m00s | 
|
[14] | N | Y | N | N | Y | |
| Chirp and constant | 12/6 data11h53m 03m03s | 
|
[15] | N | Y | N | Y | N | |
| Chirp and constant | 12/6 data11h53m 03m09s | 
|
[16] | N | Y | N | Y | N | |
| Chirp and constant | 12/6 data11h53m 03m14s | 
|
[17] | N | Y | N | Y | N | |
| Chirp and constant | 12/6 data11h53m 03m29s | 
|
[18] | N | Y | N | Y | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 03m42s | 
|
[19] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 03m46s | 
|
[20] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 03m50s | 
|
[21] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 04m36s | 
|
[22] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 05m12s | 
|
[23] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Chirp | 12/6 data11h53m 05m17s | 
|
[24] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Clicks | 12/8 data1 02m40s | 
|
[25] | Y | N | N | N | N | Echolocation clicks. |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 03m46s | 
|
[26] | N | Y | N | N | N | Short whistle, positive chirp, harmonics. |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 03m50s | 
|
[27] | N | Y | N | N | N | Short whistle, positive chirp, harmonics. |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 03m59s | 
|
[28] | N | Y | N | N | N | Positive chirp, harmonics. |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 04m09s | 
|
[29] | N | Y | N | N | N | Two different whistles, positive chirp in both, harmonics (only in the second one). |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 04m24s | 
|
[30] | N | Y | N | N | N | First whistle, positive chirp. Second whistle is less prominent with constant frequency, harmonics. |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 05m29s | 
|
[31] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 05m33s | 
|
[32] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Whistle and zap | 12/8 data2 05m36s | 
|
[33] | N | Y | N | N | Y | |
| Whistle and zap | 12/8 data2 05m40s | 
|
[34] | N | Y | N | N | Y | |
| Whistle and zap | 12/8 data2 05m43s | 
|
[35] | N | Y | N | N | Y | |
| Whistle and zap | 12/8 data2 05m47s | 
|
[36] | N | Y | N | N | Y | |
| Whistle and zap | 12/8 data2 05m51s | 
|
[37] | N | Y | N | N | Y | |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 05m54s | 
|
[38] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 05m57s | 
|
[39] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 6m00s | 
|
[40] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Whistle | 12/8 data2 6m03s | 
|
[41] | N | Y | N | N | N | |
| Whistles | 12/9 data1 05m00s | 
|
[42] | Y | Y | N | N | N | Whistles with positive chirp. Clicks most probably come from the sonar on the boat (too much regular). |
| Whistles (trembling sound) | 12/9 data1 05m07s | 
|
[43] | Y | N | Y | N | N | Several harmonics in the whistle. Clicks most probably come from the sonar on the boat (too much regular). |
| Whistle | 12/9 data1 05m25s | 
|
[44] | N | N | N | Y | N | Several harmonics are seen. Signal frequency is almost constant in time (especially in the second whistle). |
| Whistle (trembling sound) | 12/9 data1 06m20s | 
|
[45] | N | N | Y | N | N | Looks like two overlapping whistles with trembling frequencies and harmonics. Two species communication/simultaneous feedback to something? |
| Whistle (negative chirp) | 12/9 data1 06m38s | 
|
[46] | N | Y | N | N | N | Negative chirp, several harmonics. |
| Whistle and trembling sound | 12/11 data1 00m01s | 
|
[47] | N | Y | Y | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 00m05s | 
|
[48] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 00m09s | 
|
[49] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and trembling sound | 12/11 data1 00m12s | 
|
[50] | N | Y | Y | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 00m19s | 
|
[51] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle (trembling sound) | 12/11 data1 00m24s | 
|
[52] | N | N | Y | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 00m28s | 
|
[53] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 00m30s | 
|
[54] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 00m32s | 
|
[55] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 00m35s | 
|
[56] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 00m43s | 
|
[57] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 00m50s | 
|
[58] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 00m52s | 
|
[59] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 00m56s | 
|
[60] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 01m07s | 
|
[61] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 01m11s | 
|
[62] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Zap | 12/11 data1 01m14s | 
|
[63] | N | N | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 01m24s | 
|
[64] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 01m31s | 
|
[65] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 01m36s | 
|
[66] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Zap | 12/11 data1 01m38s | 
|
[67] | N | N | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 01m40s | 
|
[68] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 01m43s | 
|
[69] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 01m46s | 
|
[70] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 01m52s | 
|
[71] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 01m54s | 
|
[72] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 01m58s | 
|
[73] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 02m01s | 
|
[74] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Constant | 12/11 data1 02m03s | 
|
[75] | N | N | N | Y | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 02m06s | 
|
[76] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 02m11s | 
|
[77] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 02m18s | 
|
[78] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 02m21s | 
|
[79] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 02m25s | 
|
[80] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 02m34s | 
|
[81] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 03m13s | 
|
[82] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 03m18s | 
|
[83] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle (trembling sound) | 12/11 data1 03m32s | 
|
[84] | N | N | Y | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle and zap | 12/11 data1 03m35s | 
|
[85] | N | Y | N | N | Y | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 03m40s | 
|
[86] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 03m47s | 
|
[87] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 03m51s | 
|
[88] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 03m54s | 
|
[89] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 04m03s | 
|
[90] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 04m07s | 
|
[91] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 04m25s | 
|
[92] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 04m30s | 
|
[93] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 04m33s | 
|
[94] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 04m38s | 
|
[95] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
| Whistle | 12/11 data1 04m46s | 
|
[96] | N | Y | N | N | N | Acoustic data recorded by G.Pesce and M.Sommer (Genoa Aquarium).
The clicks in the spectrograms are due to the echo sounder of the boat. |
NAUTA bottom recorder data analysis
Data used in the analysis were collected using a uRec384k programmable underwater acoustic recorder (NAUTA Scientific, Italy) installed from 11:29 on 07/12/2019 to 11:12 on 11/12/2019.
S. Palmero et al., "Towards automatic detection and classification of orca (Orcinus orca) calls using cross-correlation methods", prerpints https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1008677/v1 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.15593
We greatly thank NAUTA scientific for providing instrumentation and sharing acoustic data.
Raw data
All data stored as wav files can be found here: [97]
Photos
Some photos which may help for photo identification are stored here: [98].